1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for calling wild turkeys that is as effective in wet and adverse weather conditions as it is in dry weather.
2. Related Art
Devices are known that may be used to call wild turkeys; however, they have the inherent disadvantage in that they are less effective, and in many cases ineffective, during adverse weather conditions or after getting wet.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,034,307, of Saunders, discloses a bird call consisting of a striker and a plate. The striker is a uniquely carved piece of wood that is mounted in a hollowed out corncob. The corncob is open at the top to permit the user to alter the tone emitted by altering the size of the opening with his/her thumb. The striker, which has a rounded head and blade with flattened sides, is brought into frictional contact with the plate. The plate is made of slate and held in the cupped palm of the hand. In practice, however, wood and hollowed out corncobs suffer from a lack of durability, and slate plates are subject to chipping and scaling, which can result in sharp edges that limit how the plate can be held or produce a rough surface that is unusable. Further, when slate gets wet, from rain, perspiration, or immersion in a body of water, it "bleeds" to produce a substance that resembles a soap film. When this occurs, the necessary friction to produce the desired tones cannot be attained.
The device of Tannehill, U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,157, consists of a sound rod made of wood mounted in a vibrator. The sound rod is rubbed across the surface of a slate mounted in a sound box. The vibrator may be attached to the sound box during transport. Although mounting the slate in the sound box provides greater protection for the slate, particularly against chipping or flaking, than the slate of Saunders, the sound rod remains subject to breakage and the device is of marginal, if any, use in wet weather because of the "bleeding" effect of slate.
A device that overcomes some of the disadvantages of Saunders and Tannehill is that of Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,483. Walker's device consists of a canister having a rotatable upper portion, mounting a slate, and a bottom portion having a second elevated floor with wood pegs mounted thereon. When the top is rotated, the friction between the slate disc and the wood pegs produces a tone that varies based upon the method of rotation. This device provides increased protection to the slate and pegs as well as reducing the likelihood the slate will get wet. However, it does so at the expense of increased complexity in the number of pegs and their fit to ensure proper operation of the device.